Transparency Report

Coffee is a world commodity, with two types of quality: commodity and specialty. We source specialty coffee. This type of coffee requires more attention to detail from the farm all the way to your cup. Every hand that touches it plays a vital role in ensuring the quality of the beans. Specialty coffees are all about quality over quantity, typically grown in small quantities by craftsmen and craftswomen farmers.

The “C Price” - the benchmark for green arabica coffee pricing that sets the stage for contracts across the industry. Historically, C Price has been artificially low, making it difficult for farmers to cover operating costs while minimizing opportunities for improvements to equipment. “Over the last 30 years, the last 8,000 trading days, coffee has traded… below $1.00, below the cost of production for virtually all coffee farmers… 23% of the time. (Ferguson, A Brief History of the Price of Coffee, covoyacoffee.com)  That was completely unsustainable. Hence why direct trade works outside of the C market and pay's farmers based on quality. This is the model we've been operating under since we started. Even though we source directly from our coffee farmers & pay top prices for top quality the C market influences the reality on the ground for the farmer. 

The C Price has been on a rally, setting and breaking records, reaching an all-time high of $4.38/lb on February 13th 2025. Think about that, from $1 to $4.38 in two years. That's quite the jump!  A number of factors weigh into this, but it’s a classic case of supply, demand, and labor changes; low yields from the 2 largest producing countries (Brazil and Vietnam), a global coffee picker shortage (many folks choosing to pursue a life in the city rather than in the coffee farms), climate changes in rainfall and temperature impacting global yield, and tariffs being levied against producing countries by the Trump administration all add pressure to the world of coffee trading. Many of these pressures are also being felt by our long-standing farming and importing partners across the world who have needed to increase their prices to remain competitive. As the C Price continues to rise, we continue to pour into (pun intended) our relationships within specialty coffee to help pay a fair value for the quality coffee they produce. We have and will continue to focus on serving some of the best coffees in the world, along with transparency, and positive global impact. Below is our transparency report which gives you a glimpse into what we pay per lb for our coffees!

The coffees we buy at Vigilante Coffee cost well above this commodity price. We seek the best beans out there for our coffee. Our coffees demand a higher premium which rewards the care and attention to detail that specialty coffee farmers put into their product. Additionally, we aim to work as closely with the producer as possible. If we’re working with importers, which we most definitely are, many of our partners are Certified B corps. We’re just aiming to do business the best way, where all parties benefit and sustain long and fruitful relationships.

Our transparency report shows you the exact price we paid as well as the cupping score and how long we’ve been purchasing coffee from this particular producer. These higher prices not only benefit the community around our farmers but benefit our customers who get the best coffee in the world.

We strive to bring more transparency and understanding to coffee. This is just one small step in that direction. Should you have questions about this information, reach out to us at beans@vigilantecoffee.com